The Dragon
by yesthenLucky9
Summary: AU Modern . Billionaire Merlin Ambrosius's plane crashes , but his body is never found . What happens when five years later , he returns , completely different to the man he was before . What happened to him? what does he know? and why is it , that when he returns , there's a man going by the name the Dragon , Fighting against the corruption that plagues his city.
1. The Dragon

**A/N Hello everyone , I decided to write this story hoping it would help get over writer's block for my other one. Its a modern one , based loosely around another TV show i like called Arrow . But it's not a copy of that as I've only used some basic parts of it . Not sure how much ill be updating this , depends on if its liked or not. Its a modern day story with a twist , it also ties in with the show as well but more will be revealed .**

**I hope you like it , i also don't have a Beta so mistakes are my own**

_**disclaimer**_

_**I Dont own Merlin , the BBC does im just playing with their characters**_

The Dragon

_Chapter one_

"Our Estimated time of landing is 0800 hours, and current time reads at 0600 hours ... The weather looks clear, looking at a nice and smooth landing at Camelot airport".

Merlin smiled when he heard the pilot's voice echo through the plane. He wasn't the best of flyers, not to mention he had been on this plane for near on six hours and he couldn't wait to be back on home soil. So hearing the pilot say they where looking at a nice and safe landing helped his nerves.

The only thing that brought comfort to him , was the fact the plane was his own private jet, or at least his father's anyway. Meaning it meant he was alone, not accompanied by any other nervous flyers, or bumps and noises from passengers on the plane, so he could just close his eyes and hope sleep would take him until he touched back home.

You see, at the age of twenty, Merlin Ambrosius was a Billionaire or at least his father Balinor Ambrosius was. His father Balinor was a multi Billionaire in fact, he was so rich he had given a Billion to Merlin as a trust fund to do what he pleased with it, wanting his only son and heir to never go without. Balinor also hoped his son would take over from him when he retired, as the CEO of Ambrosius incorporated, a highly successful research facility for high-end technology. It was why Merlin was on this plane, he had been asked by his father to watch over some business dealings in America, to get a feel for what it was like.

Merlin sighed, rubbing his hand through his thick black hair as he did. He knew deep down being a businessman in a suit wasn't him , he didn't even fit into the mold of a normal Billionaires son , unlike a few of his friends who were in his position , he didn't like to go out partying or sleeping with an endless string of girls , buying flash cars and over prices items . Merlin's real passion was art, drawing and painting was what he liked to do, he could never bring himself to let his father down though, but as he looked down at himself in his well-tailored suit, he couldn't help but think it felt so wrong. Although many things felt wrong to Merlin, he had always felt that way, like he didn't belong in most places not just a boardroom , like the world itself wasn't right that something was missing but he could never put his finger on it.

Merlin was brought out of his thoughts, when the air hostess hired for this flight interrupted him.

"There's a call for you on the private line Mr Ambrosius"

"Thank you" Merlin replied looking up at the blonde haired flight attendant, giving her a smile as he did. He then got to his feet walking through the aisle of the plane into the backroom where some of the other hired help where. He was then passed the phone connected to the wall by a different flight attendant, who he smiled at in return. Placing the phone to his ear, Merlin spoke.

"Hello this is Merlin"

"Merlin, I went all the way to your house today only to find out your in America on business?" An annoyed voice came down the phone, a voice Merlin recognized instantly, the voice of his best friend Arthur Pendragon or as he affectionately called the clot pole.

" I did tell you prat" Merlin said chuckling at his friend " You were drunk at the time I think , or just your normal slow self and you must have forgot"

Merlin smiled as he didn't hear anything in reply for a few moments, obvious his friend was trying to use the small brain of his to work out if he was being lied to or not .

A lot of people never understood how he and Arthur had ever become friends. Arthur Pendragon like Merlin was also a billionaire but unlike Merlin he was into the playboy lifestyle or so people thought. Merlin knew better though, his friend had only turned to the drinking and the woman, the moment the woman he was secretly in love with, Guinevere Leodegrance another good friend of Merlin's, had found someone else before he could pluck up the courage to ask her out, it made matters worse the person she found was a good friend of theirs, Lancelot wellington or as they called him Lance for short.

He had known the Pendragon family since he was around eight, and he and Arthur had just clicked. His father Uther Pendragon , a man who had most of the biggest players from the five countries of the united kingdom under his thumb, a man who Merlin would never admit to Arthur always made him feel nervous was a friend of his father , and through that connection they had met . In a strange weird way, it had always felt like it was meant to happen.

"Mmmmmm I'm not sure you did Merlin" Arthur finally replied "We all know how your imagination works, like the time you said my clothes where looking tighter around my middle …..Absolute ludicrous of course"

"Yes of course….Ludicrous" Merlin teased, laughing when he heard the annoyed grunt from the other end of the phone. After their normal teasing banter, they spoke about what they had been doing before Merlin heard Arthurs father calling for him on the other side of the phone.

"Got to go Merlin, father needs me" Arthur said with a sigh "oh by the way someone will be waiting for you at the airport"

And with that Arthur put the phone down, his last comment making Merlin smile, he knew exactly who would be waiting for him at the airport, his girlfriend and love of his life Morgana Pendragon, Arthur's sister.

Placing the phone back on the wall, Merlin then walked back into the seating area, sitting down on one of the luxury seats he then pulled his smart phone from his pocket , tapping different parts of his screen until he reached his gallery , he then headed for the album named Morgana.

Scrolling through the different pictures of himself and Morgana made Merlin smile, like he and Arthur, they had known each other since he was eight, although she was nine at the time. She was his first everything, first kiss, first date, first time sexually, and he hoped she would also be the last. They had been together since he was thirteen and she was fourteen, something he didn't understand as she was incredibly beautiful and had many people vying for her affection but she for some reason chose him. She was also a an inspiration for Merlin, while she was Uther's daughter she was expected to follow him like Arthur into the business world but instead she defied her father , choosing to teach English at a school instead , something Uther did not react well to.

When he finished scrolling through all the pictures, he placed his phone back in his pocket before leaning his head against the headrest of his seat, closing his eyes as he did hoping sleep would take him until the plane was finally ready to land . The only thought in his head was that one day he would ask Morgana to marry him, and he would make sure that one day was soon. With a smile on his face, sleep eventually came.

_Twenty minutes later….._

Merlin's eyes shot open suddenly as he felt someone shake at his shoulder, blinking his eye's trying to regain complete consciousness , he looked up to see the blonde air hostess staring down at him .

"I'm sorry to wake you Mr Ambrosius, but could you please put your belt on. A flash storm has erupted and it's just for safety measures"

"But the pilot said it was clear skies until we land" Merlin questioned, worry starting to seep in as he fumbled to click his belt into place.

"I know sir, but sometimes the weather doesn't keep to the script. The belt's only a minor precaution encase we hit any turbulence" the hostess replied with another smile, although Merlin was sure it was a fake one to keep her employer happy.

As he watched the hostess walk off, Merlin couldn't help but grip the arm rests of the seat.

"God I hate flying" he muttered to himself, as he did the plane started to rumble hitting a pocket of turbulence the storm was causing. Unable to help himself, Merlin slid the window shutter next to him up, peering outside into the sky as he did. What he saw though was like nothing he had ever seen, the clouds around the plane where slowly turning from grey to a dark shade of red, it was then he saw sparks of lighting rupturing out of the clouds, but unlike normal lightening it was red in colour.

His heart beating out of his chest, Merlin shut the window shutter before closing his eyes tight.

_That wasn't real, that wasn't real, that wasn't real, I'm still sleeping and this is all a dream _Merlin kept repeating to himself.

Everything went dead silent for a few moments as Merlin kept trying to calm himself down, until out of nowhere a roar was heard, or at least it sounded like a roar to him and a bolt of lightning struck the side of the plane ripping through the front half of plane , tearing it in to two pieces.

Merlin's eyes opened as the front half of plane, was tore from the back half he was sitting in. As his half started to plummet into the red blood soaked clouds, he shut his eyes once more waiting for the inevitable end to his life, wishing he could of seen Morgana and his friends one more time...it was only a few seconds later that everything went black and Merlin lost consciousness.

_An unknown amount of time later…_

Merlin's eyes shot open once more, his breathing erratic as he gasped for breath. Sitting up in shock he grabbed at his torso realizing he was unharmed. Looking around at his surrounding's he realized he was sitting in the middle of a forest, the large trees towering over him.

_What the hell's going on_,_ one minute I'm about to plummet to my death and the next I'm in a strange forest? _Merlin thought to himself as he struggled to get to his feet, when he was standing he quickly rummaged through his trouser pockets pulling out his smart phone. Checking the screen, he saw there was no signal, so he placed the phone back into his pocket.

_Maybe I'm dead? And this is some sort of afterlife _Merlin thought, swallowing nervously as he took in the dark forest he was in once more.

Merlin shivered when a cold wind blew through the forest, what made it worse was as the wind blew he was sure it was talking to him , he was sure the wind was whispering

" _Merlin"_

**interested? Not interested ? let me know**


	2. When you loose something special

**A/N Okay so wow did not expect the reaction I got for this story so thank you for all the reviews,favs,follows etc. I've been unwell and apologize for the length it took to update, I wrote while sick so I hope it's come out alright, was thinking about carrying on longer but thought it was a good place to end where I did. This chapter is more of a reaction to the first one, so nothing mind-blowing happens. I've had a lot of people asking how much like Arrow it will be, it will definitely have some aspects of the show but with a big Merlin twist to it, as well it is a Merlin story after all****.**

**About the cities in this story , like the show the big places will be things like Camelot,Essitier etc but you'll find out why eventually so I hope it's not too weird as this is meant to be a modern universe.**

**Warning I have no beta, mistakes are my own , I am not the most talented writer in the world so I do hope this is good enough.**

_**Replies to reviews…. These will be in order that I got them **_

**Guest**\- thank you for your review and here is the next part

**Guest- **Thank you and I hope I can fulfil that potential

**Nim'14- **Thank you for the review, I do hope this chapter keeps your attention

**Said The Liar 13- I'm** glad you found it interesting, I hope that continues I'll do my best.

**Guest- **Good to see another Arrow fan, addictive show lol. My summary does resemble Arrow admittedly but it's only loosely based on the idea so don't worry about that. Merlin's personality will still be the same but not as cheerful, a bit like later in the Merlin show where he becomes a little darker. Sorry about the mistakes, I do hope its readable though grammer has never been easy for me.

**Meri Ley**\- I'm glad you're interested; I hope I can keep that interest up.

**Guest- **Thank you for your review and I'm glad you like it , it won't be Arthur/Merlin sorry , it'll be Mergana and Arwen but the Arthur/Merlin bromance will be one of the big points of the story so I hope that's enough for you.

**VikingSong- **Here's the update you wanted, hope you like it even though not much happens this chapter. BTW started reading your story the prophecy and I'm hooked you're a really good writer.

**Guest- **Hello to you too, I'm like you love both shows. I'm glad I'm not stealing someone else's idea then. The characters personalities will resemble that of the show, the story will also connect to the Merlin cannon. The only character who may change is Merlin, but that's only because of circumstances.

**Guest- **I don't think it's perfect but thank you for the compliment. Here's the next chapter.

**Unknown- **Thank you, I had the same thought and just thought why not have a go writing it .

**FateOfChaos**\- Glad you're interested, this chapter is only a reaction one that would have been longer if I hadn't been unwell. I like the way Arrow is set out , where you find bits and pieces of his past . I will probably have a flashback a chapter or a section a chapter dedicated to what happened where Merlin ended up and why he ended up their . Hopefully will make a more interesting story.

**Weepingelm- **Love the enthusiasm, here's the next chapter and thank you for your review.

**Trustpixiedust- **Than you for your review, I love Arrow as well really good show. I hope you enjoy what I have planned out, and feel free to suggest anything as well.

**Patiku- **Thank you for the review , the summary sounds a lot like Arrow yes but trust me its only elements of it , it's mainly to do with Merlin the show.

**Guest- **Mergana is a lot like Oliver and Helena your right. The feelings are there but it mixed in with hate as well. I'm glad you're happy and I do hope I can do it justice.

**warnings-**mentions of drug use

**When you lose something special**

_Chapter two_

_**Camelot airport…**_

Morgana had checked her watch over five times in the last half an hour now, each minute she grew more impatient as she awaited Merlin's arrival. She knew he wasn't due to land for another half an hour but she couldn't wait to see him. He meant everything to her, ever since they had met there had been an instant connection, like they had known each other for years.

Glancing down at her watch, the ebony haired beauty huffed in annoyance at the fact only five minutes had passed since she had last checked. Wanting to waste a bit of time, she left her current spot in front of the window that showed the plane's landing, and decided to have a search about the airports shops.

Deciding first to grab a coffee, she stopped at the closest stall. After paying the person behind the till, she noticed one of the other coffee stall workers looking curiously at something .Turning her head in the direction he was looking, Morgana noticed a crowd of people standing outside one of the bars of the airport looking in.

_I wonder what's going on that's so important people can't even get inside an airport bar _Morgana pondered, being a curious soul, she decided to investigate. Striding over towards the bar, her heels clicking as she did. Reaching the crowd, she slowly made her way through the barrage of people, not one to hide at the back she slowly pushed through until she was near the front.

"What's going on?" Morgana asked turning towards a heavy-set man standing next to her , he didn't reply with words instead he just pointed up to the large TV screen hanging on the bars wall . Looking up through her emerald-green eyes, she saw a female TV reporter speaking on the screen from behind her desk, the words breaking news underneath scrolling across the screen. Deciding to tune everything else out, she listened intently as the woman spoke.

"_A shocking freak weather occurrence has taken down a plane above the English channel, the footage recorded from a passing boat has been sent in , the images were about to show you may be disturbing"_

Everyone watched in horror as a shaky recording off of a mobile, showed a jet flying in the air through grey clouds, rain was falling from the sky and thunder was heard faintly on the mobile recording. It was then that the clouds surrounding the plane turned the colour of blood, with red lightning sparking from it.

Everyone in the bar gasped when they heard an earth shattering roar come from the sky , as the lighting shot through the plane tearing it in half as It did . Both parts of the plane plummeted through the air, fire trailing from the two pieces of air craft as they did.

As the video repeated over and over, the occupants of the bar all stood quietly, hoping it wasn't any of their loved ones planes. It kept repeating until finally the reporter reappeared on the screen.

"_Reports coming in are that signal was recently lost from a private jet belonging to Ambrosius incorporated"_

Morgana stopped listening as soon as the name of Merlin's father's company slipped from the reporter's mouth. She could feel her heart start to shatter as she realised who the plane in the sky belonged to, as she did, her breathing started to become erratic as tears started to fall from her eyes. Everything started spinning, the shock making her feel dizzy and light-headed.

"Are you okay miss?" the heavy-set man standing next to her asked , his concern was spot on as the beautiful woman next to him started to stagger on her feet before dropping to floor suddenly , unconsciousness taking her.

_**Pendragon manor…..a few minutes after Arthurs phone call to Merlin**_

Arthur had a killer hangover, his head was thumping, his body ached and he couldn't help the feeling of nausea creeping in.

He didn't want to admit it though, but just a small conversation with his best friend Merlin always helped put him in a better mood, hangover or not. He would never tell Merlin that though, the boy's head was far too big, not to mention he would tease him endlessly about it.

Remembering why he had put the phone down, Arthur left his room and went off in search of his father.

_**Twenty minutes later….**_

_Thank god he finished talking _Arthur groaned to himself as he walked back into his bedroom. He had listened to his father rattle on about business dealing's for nearly twenty minutes, it was tedious enough normally but when you were hung over like Arthur was , it was torture . The blonde had only gotten up this morning to see if Merlin wanted to get an early breakfast and have a catch up, but his plans after that would off been to simply sleep the day away and recover , something he was going to do now.

He quickly put his smart phone on silent so he wouldn't be disturbed, placing it on his side draws next to his king-size bed , he then got into some comfortable sweats before slipping into his lush bed , sleep taking him as soon as his head hit the pillow.

_**Three hours later….**_

Arthur awoke feeling more refreshed and rested, the effects of his hangover now clearing. Rolling over in bed he grabbed for his phone, clicking on the unlock button.

_Twenty missed calls that's strange,_ Arthur thought to himself. Flicking onto his missed calls section he saw a mix of different names. Seeing Guinevere's name on there, he decided to ring her first, to make sure she was okay.

"Hello" an upset sounding Gwen answered after a few rings.

"Guinevere….its Arthur, I've got a missed call from you, what's wrong?" Arthur asked; even though she hadn't said anything he could always tell if she was hurting. The fact he wasn't with her, and he could still tell all her moods made him feel a little obsessive but he couldn't seem to help it when it came to this girl.

"What do you mean what's wrong?" Gwen replied her voice breaking as she did "You mean you don't know?"

"I don't know what?" Arthur questioned, his heart starting to beat quicker as the worry seeped in.

"Turn to the news channel Arthur" Gwen responded, her voice rough.

Holding the phone to his ear, Arthur looked around the room for the remote for his TV. Noticing it had fallen onto his floor, he reached down grabbing it before tapping the power button. When the TV came to life, he used the remote quickly scrolling through the channels until the news one popped up. As soon as he read what was scrolling across the TV screen, he let the phone drop to the floor, his whole body rigid in shock.

_Billionaire Merlin Ambrosius, along with the crew on his private plane confirmed missing after freak weather conditions._

Arthur couldn't believe it … His best friend was missing….his best friend was gone.

_**Five months later... **_

Tears fell from Gwen's eyes as she watched the coffin of her childhood friend lower into the ground. While it was a hot sunny day, the mood was anything but happy inside the gates of Camelot cemetery.

It had been five months since Merlin's plane had been tore in half in the middle of the sky, and for five months the search for Merlin had been obsessive. The two half's of the plane had been found relatively quickly, along with the bodies of the pilot and the cabin crew, but Merlin's body was nowhere to be found.

Merlin's mother and father had paid for boat after boat to search for him. Even with people telling them it was a lost cause they kept trying, but after five months of heartache they knew they needed to attempt to move on, that's why they had arranged the funeral so people could say goodbye to their son, even if it was to an empty casket.

Gwen's tear filled eyes glanced around at the many people who had turned out, first she looked up at the man standing next to her , her boyfriend Lancelot. He like her, was shedding a good few tears as well, he had been a good friend of Merlin's for years, meeting the quirky boy at the end of high school.

Gwen then looked toward the grieving parents, Balinor and Hunith Ambrosius. The Ambrosius family had always been so welcoming to her; they were a close family filled with nothing but love. It had devastated them losing their only child, but she knew if anyone was strong enough to get through it, it was them.

She then looked towards the Pendragon family. While Arthur stood there strong and brave holding Morgana as she wept, she knew he was broken inside; her heart ached for the blonde. Merlin was like his anchor to the real world, she knew Arthur could be impulsive and rash but Merlin had always been there to keep him grounded or as Merlin would say, keep him from being too much of a '_clot pole'_.

Then there was Morgana … her best friend in life who was completely broken by Merlin's disappearance. She was usually so feisty and confident but now she seemed a shell of herself, barely leaving the Pendragon manner, and when she did it was only when forced to.

It was the man standing behind her two friends though that caught her eye the most, their father Uther Pendragon. His face was an emotionless mask, and while she didn't expect him to be crying his eyes out like the others, she didn't expect such a cold exterior to be on show either , it was like the man didn't even care what had happened to his supposed friend's child.

Gwen didn't dwell on the emotions of Uther Pendragon though; the man had always made her feel uneasy. So instead she went back to listening to the priest in the cemetery talk, her thoughts drifting to what she was feeling. Merlin had meant so much to her, but she knew he would want her to be strong for Morgana and Arthur, not to mention his parents and other friends, so that's what she would do. Even if it meant ignoring the gaping hole loosing Merlin had left in her heart, she would make sure she would do everything in her power to honour his memory.

_**Five years later, an alleyway inside Essitier city, midnight... **_

Rain hammered down upon the city of Essitier, as a drug addict known to his friends as needle, sat alone and high behind a dumpster.

As needle took another hit of his 'medication', rain dripping down his face, his cloths soaked to the bone. He watched his surroundings blur and distort as the drug he was taking took effect.

The rain slowly became harder and the wind gradually began to pick up, followed by the clouds turning darker, the sound of thunder vibrating came next.

Looking up at the black clouds 'needle' became transfixed with them, the drug rushing through his system.

"The clouds are talking" he mumbled as he continued to look up into the sky at the brewing storm. A few moments later, the clouds above slowly started to turn red.

"Those clouds are angry" needle said to himself, before giggling at his own words.

As he was laughing, a red colored bolt of lightning shot down into the alleyway, cracking through the concrete floor leaving a large crater. When the smoke and dust cleared, someone slowly started climbing from the large hole the lightning had made in the alleyway floor.

Needle watched in amazement as a topless man crawled from the lightning created hole, the man had long jet black hair that reached his shoulders along with an unkempt beard to match. His body was well-built but not a body builder's size, currently it was covered in cuts and painful looking bruises. His bottom half choice of clothing was nothing more than a pair old brown boots and some old brown trousers.

The man stumbled to his feet, obviously in pain and slowly started to walk through the grim-looking alleyway, and disappearing out into the city.

" I'm so high right now" Needle mumbled as what he assumed was a trip from the drug he had taken ended, the strange man who appeared before him vanishing into the crowded streets of Essitier.

**A/N so what do you think? I would love to know. I thought about putting something in that carried on from the ending of the last chapter but decided it will be in the next instead. **


	3. Story update

Author's note

Hello everyone, just thought I would update about the situation of my two stories, The Story of Emrys and Le Fay and the Dragon.

I have not forgotten them , or give up on writing them but at this moment in time a lot of personal problems have arisen that are causing me and my family a great deal of stress so at the moment writing has taken a back seat .

I will finish them, and I will continue to update but it won't be until the New Year so I'm going to be putting them on temporary hiatus. Really sorry to any of my readers, but I do hope you all have a merry Christmas and a happy new year.


	4. Homecoming

**A/N Hello everyone, thank you for being patient with this story after a few personal problems i have started writing for my stories again , I'm afraid I'm a little rusty but i do hope this is someone entertaining and that you at least know whats going on. Few things to remember this is not Arrow , just a few of the plot points and also Merlin cannon counts . I'm trying to be as vague as possible until i get further into the story , would love some guess's though . **

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed , Favorited or followed .**

**I have no beta , and although i have re read multiple times grammar isn't my strong point so sorry for any mistakes or jarring sentences.**

**Homecoming**

_Chapter three_

_Alleyway inside the city of Essitier…_

He couldn't believe it, he was home….. Or at least he hoped it was as his eyes surveyed the dank and cold alleyway he was currently standing in. He wasn't sure how much time had passed since he had been gone; it wasn't like he was counting, not when you had been spending most of your time fighting for your life.

The first thing he noticed was how cold it was, but as he gazed down he realized that could be something to do with being shirtless , his only clothing being a thin pair of faded and tattered trousers and some scuffed up boots. Not to mention it was currently raining hard, but after all he had been through in his time gone, the scars that covered his body serving as proof of the trials he had endured….. The feeling of rain hitting his face as he stood on solid ground was a welcome one at that.

Remembering something important he quickly looked around the crater he had created upon his arrival, looking around the broken rubble he noticed it was gone. Running his hand through his long black hair, he growled in frustration, but before he lost his temper he closed his eyes, taking a few deep breathes he then centered himself allowing his mind to clear until he felt it. As soon as he felt a pull, much like a homing beacon he knew exactly where to go, so with that he climbed from the crater he currently stood and took off into a run down the cold and dreary alleyway, passing boxes, dumpsters and even one confused and very drugged out man who without even realizing it had witnessed the return of the missing billionaire Balinor's Ambrosious's son, Merlin Ambrosious….

Merlin came to the end of the alleyway, entering out into the streets of his currently unknown position. Almost immediately the blinding lights of cars passing by struck him in the face, bringing his run to a stop.

It had been quite some time since he had even seen a car , the shining light of the cars headlights reminding him he was no longer there , no longer in that place.

Trying to ignore the bright lights he began Glancing around the dreary street he was standing in, taking everything in trying to gage where he currently was. He wasn't sure , while the many high rise building towers could of been from the more powerful cities such as Camelot or Essitier , everything seemed so run down and un-lived in he couldn't imagine it happening to any of those locations.

Realizing he had something more important to deal with first then to simply stand around gawping, he once more cleared his mind allowing the pull he had felt once more tug at him. Following his senses he started to walk at pace along the street road ignoring onlookers who could only stare at the half naked man, with unkempt hair and a scruffy beard walking topless in the rain. They instantly gave him a wide berth, thinking the man might not be right in the head. That suited Merlin just fine, when he had been in Camelot, he was always surrounded by people or paparazzi on the streets, trying to hound him about his father or trying to find out who his latest fling was, he wasn't sure how many times he had to tell them he had already found the woman of his dreams in Morgana Pendragon.

Just thinking about the dark haired beauty brought a pain to his heart, he was gone so long he could only assume she had moved on, or at least he hoped she had someone new in her life, he wasn't sure she would even want him anymore though, not if she knew the things he knew, or the thing's he had done. While he was away though, there wasn't a day she hadn't crossed his mind, his love for her was as normal to him as the rise of the sun in the morning, if anything the mere thought of her kept him going and spurred him on, although the same could of been said when he thought of his Friends and family. Arthur, Gwen, lance, his mother and father not to mention his crazy old uncle Gaius. He wondered though, how these people would even take to the new person he had become, that was a question he was afraid to find the answer to.

Eventually after walking for a few minutes, he was pulled down another alleyway, this one even more depressing then the last. Broken glass, used condoms and needles scattered aimlessly all over the concrete floor. Blocking out everything around him, he kept walking until he came upon another crater in the ground much like the one he had climbed back out off on his return. This one much smaller in size.

Relief washed over him when he realised no one had noticed the small hole in the ground or the large black wooden box lying inside hole for that matter.

"There you are" Merlin whispered a small smile gracing his lips , upon his re-entry back home , he could only assume he had let go of his prized possession causing it to cast off in a different direction, luckily it hadn't gone too far.

With his box now in hand, it was time to find out where he was...

_**20 minutes later...**_

_This is Essitier?_ Merlin thought to himself as he know stood atop an old church roof. He had climbed a top of it so he could get a better look at what had happened to his home Camelot's neighboring city , having worked out where he was from walking past Essitier's Central bank.

Apart from the business district where the high towers stood and the rich dwelled, all the city streets where people lived looked run down and uncared for... Like the people living in these areas had been forgotten about... Merlin couldn't help but wonder how everything had come to this... He knew his primary goal upon his return and it was a goal he would achieve even if it meant his life but it seemed he had something else he would have to deal with, if Camelot was anything like Essitier appeared, he knew the citizens would need someone looking over them.

_One hour later..._

Merlin had stood calmly upon the church's roof for an hour still taking everything in, it was after the fourth different police siren he had finally had enough . With a shake of his head he carefully climbed down from the church roof with the agility of a cat, one hand gripping the handle of his black box. He landed on his feet with well-practiced precision, before he headed off towards his next destination.

While he wasn't ready yet return to the city of Camelot, he knew one place he was ready for. He just hoped his crazy old uncle Gaius still resided in Essitier; after all he had something important he needed to show him…. Something life changing.

_Five years ago….._

"_Merlin"…._

"_Merlin"…_

"Who's there…..this isn't funny anymore" Merlin shouted his heart beating nervously as he once more heard the strange whisper calling his name .

Having just awoken in a strange forest after the section of the plane he had been in had nosedived into blood colored clouds and what he could only of assumed the last moments of his life, he was instantly met by an eerie sounding voice whispering his name, at first he had thought it was his mind playing tricks on him, that mixed with the slight breeze brushing through the large tree's greenery that surrounded him. But the voice persisted even when he slowly walked through the forest in an attempt to get away from it.

He had hoped it would have faded and he could concentrate on finding his crashed plane, after all it couldn't have been too far, plus how hard would it be to find a crashed plane in a forest? And maybe as he had been lucky enough to survive without being hurt then one of the cabin crew or pilot's might of as well. But instead as he trudged through the forest still dressed in his suit, the voice only became clearer.

Eventually he came to a clearing in the forest, the tall trees circling around a large patch of mud and grass that had three long logs of wood scattered around the middle. It was as soon as he stepped into this clearing that the voice stopped , thankful for the peace he started to carry on walking until the voice was replaced with another one , this time the voice wasn't a low whisper , instead it sounded like a little girl .

"_Look …..Look mommy I made a butterfly" _

Merlin quickly turned around glancing each way he could, trying to spot where the voice was coming from until another one started to speak as well , this time the voice belonging to an older sounding woman.

"_I'm sorry baby but we've got to go right now"_

Merlin stood still, thinking he was losing his mind as the conversation continued to play out even though no one was around.

"_But mommy my butterfly" _

"_Oh no he's already here….." _

The conversation stopped only to be replaced by the sounds of screams and cries for help.

Merlin placed his hands over his ears trying to keep the sounds of people in pain out but it didn't stop as the screams continued running through his head.

"This isn't real" Merlin said under his breath as he did the only thing he could think of …..Run.

With his legs moving as fast as they could possibly take him, Merlin sprinted through the forest , all the while trying to escape the cries for help rattling through his mind .

_"Please help me"_

_"Save me please..."_

"_NOO NOT MY SON TAKE ME INSTEAD"_

As he ran aimlessly , jumping over fallen trees and running through puddles of mud trying to escape the voice's in his head, he could only hope he was about to wake up and this was all a dream or some strangely vivid nightmare. He didn't though, instead he ended up not seeing a large Stick laying in front of him, his foot becoming caught sending him to the floor his face crashing into the ground , mud covering his face as he did.

Groaning in pain he placed the Palms of his hands on the floor using them to push him up off the floor. As he was slowly climbing back to his feet, the ebony haired billionaire's caught sight off flames flickering in the distance.

"Survivors" Merlin whispered in hope to himself as he started walking towards the flames, trying his best to ignore the voice's that still plagued his mind.

A few minutes later, the flame disappeared, but not one to be deterred Merlin continued in the direction the flames once were.

_Nightfall…._

It seemed like hours he continued to walk, following the direction the flame had been, until finally he came to the end of the forest, it seemed as soon as he found the exit of the forest the voices stopped, much to Merlin's relief not to mention his sanity.

He didn't dwell on why he could hear the cries of people asking for help, or the sound of people lives being ended, even though for some reason each voice seemed to strike a nerve, each voice giving him the feeling of guilt, like somehow he should have been there to help them but that was crazy, after all, how could he help people he couldn't even see.

Walking out from between the trees, he ambled out onto vast green fields that seemed never ending. With it being night time now, he decided to keep walking for a little while longer before eventually stopping for the night to get some rest and re group in the morning.

_Twenty minutes later..._

"Grass ...Grass...oh more grass" Merlin muttered to himself in annoyance as he continued to walk through the never ending greenery.

"Where the hell am I?" He sighed, rubbing his hands over his face before glancing around his surroundings. The only thing he could see each way was fields of grass and nothing more. Deciding to stop and take everything in, he stood where he was and gazed into the distance.

It was eerily quiet, not even the sound of crickets could be heard, and it was almost peaceful. That was until, out of nowhere a loud roar was heard, a roar louder and more fearsome then any animal Merlin had ever heard. Quickly turning towards the direction the chilling noise came from, his heart thumping in his chest, he looked towards the sky as in the light of the moon he saw two large wings flapping in the distance.

Whatever that thing was that had let off a cry that could wake the dead, it was heading closer, so for the second time today Merlin did the only thing he could...he ran.

**A/N Well what do you think? **

**Next chapter well see a very different side to Merlin , a visit to an old man and some more from 5 years ago **


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